HUD provides AGs information on robo-signing

The Department of Housing and Urban Development and other agencies provided the 50 state attorneys general a report on robo-signing practices at the largest mortgage servicers.
A spokesman for Iowa AG Tom Miller, the lead in the ongoing negotiations, confirmed a report that appeared in American Banker Friday.
"HUD among other federal and state agencies has provided us information that gives us a very clear picture of what has occurred," the spokesman said.
Miller's office would not provide details on the report's findings. A HUD spokesman was not immediately available for comment.
The AGs launched a multistate investigation into mortgage servicers in October when evidence of forged and mishandled foreclosure documentation surfaced in state courts. HUD and the Federal Housing Administrationlaunched their own investigation of their servicers in early 2011.
Negotiations remain ongoing. On Friday, Miller wrote a letter to members of Congress saying the eventual settlement will be narrow, leaving room for other liabilities both civil and criminal beyond the scope of the robo-signing practice.
Write toJon Prior.
Follow him on Twitter @JonAPrior.

Commentary

With the recent turnover in leadership at the Federal Housing Finance Agency, we may be standing at the precipice of great change in the government’s role in supporting the mortgage market through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.